Performance Reviews: Respond to Compliments

We all love to hear compliments when we do something worth noticing. You’re sure to hear some compliments in your performance review. Typically it is easier to hear compliments than constructive criticism, but you may not have considered the appropriate way to respond to compliments that you receive from your supervisor. Here are some tips to responding to compliments professionally during your performance review:

Say thank you.

Share the credit with others.

Don’t downplay compliments.

Let the person know how much the compliment means to you.

Share a detail about the compliment.

Let’s take a closer look at these suggestions:

Say thank you

Always say thank you when you receive a compliment. This can be easier said than done, especially if you are one to dismiss good feedback that comes your way. Even if it us hard for you to accept compliments, try to say thank you, since it is nice (and often unnecessary) for someone to praise your work. You especially want to make sure to thank your supervisor for any kind words he or she gives you in your performance review.

If you find yourself at a loss for words when receiving a compliment, here are some responses you can try:

Thank you. I was hoping this is what you were looking for and I really like it, too.

Thank you. I really enjoyed working on that project. I’m glad you like it!

Thank you. I’m glad to help the company.

Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.

Share the credit

A good rule of thumb: don’t take all the credit if you didn’t do all the work. If you receive a compliment for a project that your team completed together, make sure you mention that it could not have been done without your teammates. Doing this will show that you can both be dependable and rely on others to meet goals. Plus, it will make sure that you are willing to share the credit for a job well done.

It is not always necessary to share the credit, especially if you did the hard work yourself. In this case, just say thank you. Don’t downplay the compliment and give the credit away to others if you truly deserve all of it! You work hard and should be acknowledged for the work you do.

Don’t downplay the compliment

Don’t downplay your compliments. That is to say, don’t ever argue with the person giving the compliment! If someone gives you a compliment on your work, your tendency may be to say “Oh, it’s not that great”. Not only does this rob you of your hard work being noticed, but it also dismisses the person’s opinion. Learn to say thank you and accept compliments. Otherwise you will constantly dismiss your own abilities and the opinion of others.

Let the person know how much the compliment means to you

Rather than downplaying your work or changing the subject, let the person giving the compliment know how much it means to you. Remember that the person often has nothing to gain by offering a compliment to you, so it is polite to acknowledge and accept his or her kind words. In your performance review, look your supervisor in the eyes and sincerely thank him or her for the compliment. Don’t dismiss your hard work and rob yourself of well-deserved praise.

Share a detail about the compliment

After you thank the person for the compliment, you might want to say something more about it. In the case of your performance review, it can be appropriate to talk about how long you worked on the presentation or how much work went into it. You could discuss an obstacle you faced when working on the assignment and how you overcame it. Sharing details about the compliment will give you more to talk about, without dismissing the attention or positive feedback. It can show your supervisor how you use problem-solving skills or how you worked successfully as part of a team. In this way, sharing details can help you promote yourself to your supervisor in a positive way.

Thank you for tuning into our post on responding to compliments. If you would like to learn more about teaching workplace readiness skills, click the free trial link below.

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Terry Schmitz is the founder and owner of The Conover Company. Terry has been involved in the development of assessments for both education and corporations for over 30 years. He has developed hundreds of job-specific assessment systems that link to skill building systems.